A Bite of the Big Apple
by fbeauchamphartz
Summary: Kurt has discovered that his fiancé is now something of a celebrity in the Tumblr universe. In fact, most of the students at NYADA seem to know about it. And from what Kurt can tell, it's a good, positive thing. So why didn't Blaine tell Kurt about it? Comes sometime after the episode "Tested". New York AU. Klaine Blaine A. Kurt H.


**A/N:** _This AU delves into one way that Blaine might have dealt with his weight issues and tried to get over the insecurities he had. Set some time after the episode "Tested". Warning for talk about body image and weight issues._

Apparently, Blaine has become somewhat of a celebrity overnight…and behind Kurt's back.

Blaine earning himself some recognition doesn't bother Kurt. It's nice to see his fiancé come into his own, finding a niche at NYADA after so much time spent following Kurt around, getting himself installed into most of Kurt's classes, attaching himself to Kurt almost at the hip. It's the fact that Blaine didn't tell Kurt about it that kind of has him miffed, and Kurt wonders - why the secrecy? Why did Kurt have to find this news out from the gossip chain at NYADA?

He's sure it's just an innocent mistake. Maybe it's actually not as big a deal as it seems to Kurt. Blaine wouldn't purposefully keep Kurt out of the loop, not after everything that's happened to them as a couple in the past. They promised to be honest with one another. No more bottled up feelings, no more fear or resentment festering in silence.

In the spirit of that promise, Kurt is simply going to ask Blaine about it and give him the opportunity to explain.

That's the plan, at least.

Kurt fidgets with his phone on the subway ride home, reading his email, checking his Twitter, logging on to Facebook, before he breaks down and searches for it. He knows he should let Blaine show it to him himself, but Kurt is dying of curiosity. He types in .com.

ABBA. Blaine _would_ have a blog whose url spells out the name of the band ABBA.

Kurt's screen turns blue, then black, and the blog comes up. The header image shows a rather tempting bowl of Ceviche beside a plate of mixed greens, and his avi - an insanely perfect red delicious apple wearing one of Blaine's bow ties, forest green with a spattering of tiny toques printed on it, the one Kurt bought him back in high school to commemorate the couple's cooking class they took. Beneath the photo in white letters against the back background are the words: _A Bite of the Big Apple – for the Coin and Calorie Conscious_

Kurt smiles when he sees the title of the blog. He didn't know what he had expected, but this is a sweet surprise nonetheless.

Blaine has been struggling with his weight ever since he moved to New York. It had been an unpredicted circumstance of college life, a combination of his new freedom, being surrounded by great and interesting food…and maybe a smidgen of insecurity.

But Blaine had been able to put that behind him. A lot of talking and promising to always be open with one another about their feelings went a long way toward helping Blaine find his footing again.

Which is why Blaine keeping this blog a secret is bewildering to Kurt.

Kurt wouldn't have even guessed about it if Cyndi from his Intro to Costume Design class hadn't spilled the beans.

"Hey!" she said, catching Kurt in the hallway between classes. "Tell your man he was right!"

"Right?" Kurt asked, walking in a circle to follow her as she whizzed by. "Right about what?"

"About the Balsamic chicken and avocado sandwich at Pret A Manger. It was beyond divine. It was devoon! And I didn't feel like a heifer afterward."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Andrea, a girl who had been in Kurt's dance class the previous semester, chimed in, "did you try the quinoa and farro bowl at Sweetgreen he was raving about?"

"No!" Cyndi gasped. "Did I miss that one?"

 _That one?_ Kurt thought as he watched their conversation unfold. _That one what?_

"You must have because _oh my God_! I can't even tell you! You have to try it for yourself." Andrea turned to Kurt with the brightest smile and said, "You have to thank Blaine for me. I've lost five pounds since I started following him on Tumblr!"

"Okay…" Kurt replied, nodding, trying not to look like he didn't have the foggiest idea what they were talking about. Kurt followed Blaine on Tumblr, of course, but he never saw Blaine blog anything about food. Or restaurant recommendations. The last time Blaine was even on Tumblr all he posted were gifs from the show Game of Thrones – specifically of Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell getting it on, which led to a whole evening of kinky role play, so sure, Kurt would remember it.

That night is burned into his memory.

Cyndi and Andrea turned the corner of the hallway, animatedly discussing their lunch selections – entrées Blaine had apparently suggested - leaving Kurt bemused. Even with the work Blaine has been doing to get over his body issues, going to the gym regularly and consulting a nutritionist, he still doesn't have the best relationship with food. He usually avoids discussing it.

But that conversation with Cyndi and Andrea seemed to open the flood gates to dozens more people finding Kurt in the halls and telling him about the wonderful foodie finds they had been led to, all thanks to Blaine. Eventually, one zealous follower showed Kurt a post on their phone (practically shoving the thing in his face) of an Asian-inspired spinach chicken salad which quote/unquote _changed their life_ and that's how he got the blog's url.

Kurt is beyond proud of Blaine, proud that he could take such a painful negative and turn it into a fun and helpful positive.

But why didn't Blaine tell him?

When Kurt arrives at the loft, Blaine's already there, sitting on the sofa, books spread open on the coffee table, working on a composition for his spring final. Kurt takes a moment to admire him, especially in light of this discovery – his newfound confidence and strength, the fact that today they didn't have a single class together and yet there's no angst, no drama, no problems.

 _Please,_ Kurt thinks _, let there be no problems._

"Hey, sweetie," Kurt says, slipping off his jacket and hanging it on the wooden coat rack standing by the door.

Blaine's head pops up, a warm smile on his face – the one he always wears to greet Kurt. "Hey!"

"I had a really interesting run in with some people from school," Kurt starts, sauntering over.

"Run in?" Blaine's smile falls, worry taking its place. "Is everything…are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kurt says, waving Blaine's worry away. "Not like that."

"Oh," he says as Kurt sits beside him, his smile returning. "Then, what was it?"

"Well, it was the strangest thing, actually. Cyndi from my design class wanted me to thank you for the tip on the Balsamic chicken sandwich."

Something flickers in Blaine's eyes. He sits up straight and shifts his feet beneath him the way he does when he gets nervous.

"Did…did she?" he asks, clearing his throat between words. He starts closing the books on the coffee table, giving him a new focus for his eyes, which are always his biggest giveaway.

"Yes," Kurt says, folding his hands in his lap. "And Andrea mentioned something about the quinoa and farro bowl at Sweetgreen?"

"Oh…" Blaine says, appearing startled, but with a small smile playing on his lips. "Oh, yeah, well…"

"But the funny thing is," Kurt continues, "they both said they got recommendations off your Tumblr. And I've been looking through your Tumblr on the train ride home, but I can't find any food posts." Kurt doesn't mention that he's seen the other blog, waiting, hoping Blaine will bring it up himself.

"Um…okay…" Blaine finishes closing his books then looks up, his eyes restless, trying to decide where to look.

"Blaine," Kurt says, putting a hand on his to stop him when he reaches out to re-open the books again, "if the Frat Boy Physicals fiasco taught us anything, it's that you can talk to me. I _want_ you to talk to me. I want you to tell me when things bother you or…" Kurt shrugs because he doesn't know if this is something that's actually bothering Blaine, or if it's a symptom of something else.

Blaine sighs.

"I swear, I was going to tell you." Blaine reaches underneath the couch and pulls out his laptop. "It was supposed to be a side thing, just for me – you know, to keep me honest." Blaine opens the laptop up on the coffee table and logs on to his blog. "I was looking for places that catered to fresh, low-calorie meals that weren't too expensive, and when I found something, I posted it. I figured that I could help people and be held accountable at the same time, like a support group." Blaine turns the laptop toward Kurt so he can see. It's the same page Kurt saw on his phone, but with a few new posts uploaded. Kurt leans over Blaine and scrolls through his blog, looking at post after post of lunches Blaine has eaten, some breakfasts, a few snacks, each tagged with a rating, the calorie count, and an estimated price indicated by dollar signs the way most food review websites do. "But then people found out about it and it kind of exploded. I got, like, thousands of followers, nearly overnight. I even got a few advertisers." Blaine laughs, struck giddy by his unintentional success. "I was going to tell you, I just…I kind of didn't know how. I didn't want you to think I had fallen off the wagon, or…or that it was stupid."

Kurt slides closer to Blaine, wrapping his arms around Blaine's neck.

"I don't think it's stupid. I would never think that, especially if this is something you needed to do for you. Oh, Blaine." Kurt leans in and rests his head against Blaine's shoulder. "You can tell me anything, and I _mean_ anything. I'm sorry if I ever made you think you can't."

"It's not that," Blaine says. "I know I can talk to you. I think _I_ needed to be okay with it first. Does that…make any sense?"

"Yeah," Kurt says, raising his head to kiss Blaine on the cheek. "It does."

Blaine puts an arm around Kurt's waist and holds him closer. Kurt is practically fused against him and yet Blaine can't seem to get close enough.

"What do you want to do now?" Blaine asks, glancing down at the clock on his screen and noticing the time. 5:23. Where did the day go?

"Why don't we go out to eat?" Kurt suggests. "Celebrate your blog's success?"

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm."

Blaine smiled. "Where did you want to go?"

"Well, you're the expert, so let's take a look." Kurt leans over Blaine's lap to get to the computer and scrolls down the posts on the screen. "According to your post on April 14th, ABC Kitchen has a Grilled Chicken Paillard with roasted vegetables that's to die for. Is that true?"

"Yes," Blaine says, a blush rising to his cheeks. "They also have a pretty amazing Pear and Almond Tart that we can split for dessert. It's a little higher on the calorie side than I normally recommend…"

"That sounds great," Kurt cuts in, climbing into Blaine's lap and straddling his legs, gazing down at him with a libidinous grin. "Because then we can come back here and work it off. If that's okay with you, _Lord of Storm's End_."

Blaine looks up at his fiancé, eyes flicking over Kurt's lips with a lustful grin of his own. "Absolutely, _Ser Tyrell_."


End file.
